According to Marco van Basten, Virgil van Dijk’s ability to captain the Netherlands team has been called into question as he creates chaos instead of providing clear instructions to his teammates.
Despite the Netherlands’ recent 3-0 win over Gibraltar in the Euro 2024 qualifying round, Van Basten remains critical of Van Dijk’s performance during the team’s 4-0 loss to France three days prior.
Van Basten has doubts about Van Dijk’s leadership skills, stating that a good captain should think aloud, make clear what is going on, and prevent misunderstandings.
Van Basten believes that Van Dijk’s habit of making noise without saying anything clear has been a significant source of frustration.
“He makes a lot Of noise without doing anything. He is not clear With his instructions and that’s not good for a Captain, especially for the National team”
He also asserts that Van Dijk’s strengths lie in the dressing room rather than football tactically and technically, and that the Netherlands team needs another gentleman on the field to provide leadership.
Van Dijk responded to Van Basten’s comments by stating that everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
He suggests that consistency is the right word to describe his performance, rather than perfection.
Van Dijk acknowledges that players experience high peaks and deep lows and that mistakes are a normal part of football.
“I do not think about these things, everybody has the right to their opinion. Did I set the standards too high for myself? Well I don’t know. All I can say is nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes” Van Dijk said
Regardless of who has a platform to speak out, Van Dijk believes that it is essential to recognize when something is being done right or not.